Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol 58, Issue 2 156-159, Copyright © 1996 by American Psychosomatic Society

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

The complaint of oral malodor: possible psychopathological aspects

I Eli, R Baht, A Kozlovsky and M Rosenberg
Section of Behavioral Sciences, The Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Oral malodor (halitosis) is a common concern in Western society. As with other human perceptions, emotional as well as cognitive variables play a major role in one's sensation and complaint. To study factors potentially associated with the complaint of oral malodor, periodontal and psychological evaluations were carried out on 38 subjects (66% female, mean age 43 years) with a complaint of oral malodor. Subjects underwent evaluation of their periodontal status, odor evaluation by an odor judge, and psychopathological symptom survey by means of the SCL-90 questionnaire. The patient's self-rating of oral odor was significantly higher than the evaluation of an objective odor judge and was not associated with their periodontal status. The SCL-90 profile of subjects was relatively higher than that of an age- and gender-matched reference group of dental patients. The results suggest that the complaint of oral malodor may be related to psychopathological symptoms as recorded by the SCL-90 questionnaire.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				ADA COUNCIL ON SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS Oral malodor J Am Dent Assoc, February 1, 2003; 134(2): 209 - 214. [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. ELI, R. BAHT, H. KORIAT, and M. ROSENBERG Self-perception of breath odor J Am Dent Assoc, May 1, 2001; 132(5): 621 - 626. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]